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Is/Does anyone going to freeze their DC's teeth? (article long)
Center in Newton looks to profit by banking stem cells from baby teeth
By Jeffrey Krasner, Globe Staff | January 25, 2007
To keep pace with new technology, the tooth fairy is taking on a new responsibility.
Instead of just leaving money under the pillow, today's tooth fairy -- or perhaps a parent -- might also want to consider extracting a child's baby tooth before it falls out, so it can be preserved at 330 degrees below zero Fahrenheit.
Pulp from baby teeth, which most children lose between ages 6 and 12, is rich with stem cells. Such cells have the ability to develop into many different types of tissue, and some scientists say they have the potential to grow new bone, nerves, and teeth. Hoping to capitalize on that promise, New England Cryogenic Center Inc. of Newton is today unveiling a new service that will allow parents to preserve dental pulp extracted from their children's teeth.
Dr. David Matzilevich , the company's chief scientific officer, said he believes banking pulp will one day become as common as getting smallpox vaccinations and tetanus booster shots.
"These stem cells have very good differentiation potential to become bone, cartilage, neural tissue, and teeth," he said. "We're looking at partial or complete tooth regeneration and bone formation."
But the science is still in its early stages, and it is difficult to predict if stored stem cells will ever provide significant protection against diseases later in life. A leading government researcher said it's too early to say whether storing dental pulp makes sense.
New England Cryogenic Center's freezing service is expected to cost $600 per tooth, plus a $100 annual storage fee, and should be available soon, the company said.
Many parents already bank umbilical cords from newborns. Stem cells from blood found in the cords have been shown effective in treating certain types of anemia, and biotechnology companies -- including Viacell Inc. of Cambridge -- are working to develop more therapeutic treatments using umbilical blood.
Tooth stem cells are a type of "adult" stem cell. Unlike embryonic stem cells, which possess the ability to grow into any kind of body tissue, adult cells have a more limited repertoire. But like stems cells derived from umbilical cords, cells from dental pulp don't prompt the ethical concerns surrounding those taken from frozen embryos, which must be destroyed to harvest the cells.
Biotech companies and government researchers around the world are learning how to prompt dental stem cells to become particular types of tissue and are investigating their use in treating a host of diseases.
"It's a convenient source of stem cells, but until we can see what we can make out of them, it's too early to say whether people should be banking dental stem cells," said Pamela Gehron Robey , chief of the Craniofacial and Skeletal Disease Branch of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research.
Robey said she is "confident" dental stem cells can be coaxed to develop into dentin, the material in the center of a tooth that surrounds nerve cells and blood vessels. But growing the dentin is just the start of building a tooth, she said. She said scientists still don't know how teeth develop enamel, the hard outer surface.
It's also unknown whether dental stem cells derived from one person could be used to treat someone else without triggering potentially deadly immune responses.
Dr. Songtao Shi of the University of Southern California School of Dentistry, who performed much of the initial research at Robey's laboratory, is more enthusiastic about the near-term prospects. He is exploring the feasibility of putting an artificial crown atop a tooth root grown from stem cells. Dental stem cells can also produce collagen, Shi said, which can be injected under the skin to eliminate wrinkles.
"I encourage preservation," he said. "There's more and more evidence that these cells may have potential beyond our current understanding."
One company already offers the service. Bioeden Inc. of Austin, Texas, started commercially preserving dental pulp last summer. Jeff Johnson , the company's chief executive, said it has developed a unique way of growing the cells from pulp for several weeks to ensure they are healthy before immersing them in liquid nitrogen. He said his firm charges $445 plus $89 a year, and so far has between 2,000 and 3,000 clients.
"Banking dental pulp is a valuable opportunity," said Johnson, "but it's an opportunity that goes away as your child grows."
But all may not be lost for those who long ago lost their baby teeth. Scientists say stem cells can also be derived from pulp in an adult's wisdom teeth. That could provide a way to develop autologous treatments -- those derived from a patient's own tissue -- for adults.
New England Cryogenic banks thousands of embryos and other tissue samples and generated revenues of about $13 million in 2005. But Matzilevich said the company intends to conduct its own research, helping to bring therapies from dental stem cells closer to the market.
"Ultimately, our goal is to drive this technology forward to clinically relevant applications," he said.
Dr. Bjorn Olsen , dean for research at the Harvard University School of Dental Medicine, said research on dental stem cells is "moving in the direction of practical applications with fairly good speed."
"There's no question these cells will be useful," said Olsen. "The question is when."
He said he recently considered banking his son's dental pulp, but decided against it.
"My son was intent on leaving the tooth under the pillow and getting a payment return from the tooth fairy," Olsen said. "I didn't want to deprive him of that experience."
Jeffrey Krasner can be reached at [email protected].
Message edited 5/29/2007 3:21:01 PM.
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